


Chemical Reactions - Part 21

by Winchester_with_Wings



Series: Chemical Reactions - Teacher AU [21]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Angst, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Secret Relationship, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-24 09:28:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17701772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winchester_with_Wings/pseuds/Winchester_with_Wings
Summary: Series Summary: Being a teacher at Central City Academy doesn’t leave much time for a personal life. You didn’t really notice or care…that is until the day the new substitute science teacher, Barry Allen makes an appearance.Part 21: Face it, you’ve been called to the principal’s office.





	Chemical Reactions - Part 21

**Author's Note:**

> My beta as always is the wonderful and future professional editor thinkwritexpress-official. 
> 
> Check out my tumblr sometime!  
> http://winchester-with-wings.tumblr.com

You don’t tell Barry about the email at first.

What if it has nothing to do with the two of you?

You just go about your day as normal, occasionally checking your email to see if there’s an update. You’d accepted the virtual invitation, hoping it was an innocent thing.

“What’s wrong?” Caitlin asks you at lunch. “You’re barely eating.” She playfully throws a Cheeto at you. Your off periods have changed and now it’s just you and Caitlin. You’re actually kind of grateful to have time without all the boys.

“Um, yeah. I’m fine,” you shrug, flicking the Cheeto back across the table.

“Fine? Really?” She quirks an eyebrow at you.

“Okay,” you sigh, “I have a meeting with the dean today.”

“You do? Why?” Cait asks before taking a sip of her drink.

“I don’t know,” you say with a shrug and poking at your food.

“Not even a guess?”

“Um…maybe…” you whisper and try not to meet her gaze.

“Y/N…What’s going on?”

“I think Barry and I have been caught…” you mutter under your breath.

“What? By who? How do you know?”

“Well, I think we got caught by a student the other day.”

“Really?”

You hide your face in your hands. “I don’t know. I just…I don’t know what happened or what’s going to happen.”

“Don’t worry. Dean Stein has always been very considerate of me and Ronnie. Everything will be okay.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Caitlin pauses before answering. “I can’t. But I’m hoping it will be. I know how happy you and Barry are. I kinda hoped that you’d end up having the same thing Ronnie and I have. I want you to get your happy ending.”

You don’t say ‘me too’ because you don’t want to jinx it and you’re afraid to admit that that’s what you want. Was this all doomed from the beginning?

* * *

“Dr. Stein will see you now,” the receptionist says, gesturing to his door. His name, including the indicators for his PhD in physics, are on a plaque on the door. You smile at the woman and get out of your cushioned seat, heading into the administrative office.

You still knock politely while turning the knob. In your mind, you’ve got your defenses up. You’re ready to say, ‘It’s not what you think, we’re in love’ –no that won’t help your case will it? ‘I don’t know what you’ve heard but they’ve got it all wrong.’ Yeah that’s what you’ll say.

The words evade you before the door is even closed.

“You wanted to see me…”

You recognize the back of Barry’s head with ease. He’s sitting in a chair, his back facing you. But he sits up and turns in his seat, no doubt recognizing your voice and realizing what is going on.

“Oh, hi Barry,” you say, trying to sound nonchalant and impersonal, as if Barry is just another colleague. He closes his eyes, dejected as he turns back around.

“Glad you could join us,” Dr. Stein says, genuinely sincere. “Thank you for coming. Please, have a seat,” Dr. Stein, with his black glasses and silver hair, offers the second chair.

You sit down, glancing at Barry for a few moments. He seems to be keeping his calm, wearing a maroon sweater, dark denim jeans, and converse sneakers. You briefly recall how you’d tugged on that sweater this morning, pulling Barry in for a kiss. Your gaze moves to your hands in your lap.

“I wanted to take to opportunity to share some information I recently received.”

Did he really pause for effect?

“As you know, we have a no-interpersonal-relationship policy here among the faculty. Now, I know that must be a strange rule as public schools allow it and we have made the exception with Mr. Raymond and Ms. Snow. But they are just that. They are the exception, which was agreed upon by the Board of Education for our facility in the circumstance that a position needed to be filled. Mr. Allen, you did not work here at the time. Ms. Y/L/N, do you remember that? Remember the memo that went out, as well?” You nod in response.

“Yes, sir. I actually heard the news from Ronnie and Caitlin themselves.”

“Okay. Well, I’m concerned that our exception of that relationship has given the impression that the policy is not enforced. I was happy to hear about your class experiments, Ms. Y/L/N, completed with the help of Mr. Allen.

“However, an anonymous complaint has been filed, claiming that there is an unprofessional and personal…intimate…relationship between the two of you.”

A lump forms in your throat. You can’t breathe. You heart sinks and your hands are cold with dread, you wring them in your lap, trying to hide their shaking. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice Barry’s perfect posture as he tried to conceal his own reaction too.

“Your silence is enlightening,” Dr. Stein comments, looking down with disappointment.

“Wh–who would say that?” you say.

“Who told you this?” Barry says at the same time.

“I’m not at liberty to say. And we don’t have concrete evidence at the moment, but considering that we’ve been told that your encounters may have occurred on campus, we may decide to investigate further by looking back at the campus camera footage. Before we do that, is there anything you’d like to say?”

Two long heartbeats…

“Sir, please. It’s my fault.” Barry leans forward in his chair. “I pursued Ms. Y/L/N when I started here. I–uh–I thought that because I was a substitute, that I wouldn’t be here long and that it wouldn’t matter.”

“Mr. Allen, you’re admitting to a romantic pursuit. But what I need to know is if this is…more. Are you two in a relationship? More to the point, have you acted on any of these feelings with any sort of PDA which could compromise your positions here at the academy?”

“Yes,” you say, keeping your gaze down for only a moment before looking up, first at Barry and then at Dr. Stein. “I’m sorry to say, Dr. Stein, that yes we have kissed on campus. But never in front of students, sir. I swear,” you speak adamantly. You admit to this in the least, hoping that it would keep him from looking back at footage. It’s almost been long enough since your last encounter that the files will have recorded over it but not yet.

“She’s right sir. We haven’t engaged in anything around students. We care for our students and would never do something that would harm them,” Barry adds, resting his hand on your forearm gingerly. You feel a slight twinge knowing that he’s lying; that you’ve been reckless and nearly been caught several times. Dr. Stein is perhaps only referring to kissing, but how can you admit that you’ve been even more inappropriate by having sex in several places on campus? That would surely result in termination.

“I would like to find reassurance in that but I still can’t ignore that someone did notice. And as I’ve said, we can’t allow anymore exceptions.”

“What does that mean for us, sir?” Barry’s grip on your arm tightens.

“It means you have a decision to make.” You and Barry turn your heads to look at each other, practically in sync, and then turning back to look at up the dean. He circles his desk and takes a seat. “Mr. Allen, obviously you are a newly appointed teacher and Ms. Y/L/N, you would have seniority. But that also means, Y/N, you know the policy better than Barry. There’s a decision to be made. Either one of you leaves your position here at Central City Academy…or you can both stay, if the relationship ends and you go back to a strictly professional acquaintance. Since this is a personal matter, I’ll give you two a week to make the decision.”

“Understood, sir.” Barry stands up, smoothing out his sweater. You stand as well but keep some space between you and Barry. You leave Dr. Stein’s office and the administration office together. You turn right. Barry goes left.


End file.
